Sunday, March 24, 2013

Runamuck

Back in 1986, fresh off the success of the Jumpstarters, Hasbro released the Decepticon counterparts the Battlechargers. I got Runabout in 1987, but I never got my hands on Runamuck. Twenty-six years later, I decided that it was time to add him to my collection.

The Battlecharger's main claim to fame is their appearance in issue #23 of the Marvel Transformers series. Written by Bob Budiansky, Runamuck and Runabout are essentially Beavis and Butthead about 6 years before Beavis and Butthead existed. Other than that starring role, the Battlechargers were mainly relegated to the fringes of the fiction whenever they'd surface. Runamuck got a little more exposure during IDW's -ation comics, but was sadly beheaded by the Reapers and hasn't been seen since.

The fiction has never really had any bearing on my want for Runamuck. Honestly, I've always loved the autotransformation gimmick. Call me a sucker, but pulling back a motor and watching it go and then transform just makes me giddy. The problem has always been finding one that in a non-yellowed condition. Being a white (or off-white) figure, means that finding one that is fairly clean can be rather difficult at a reasonable price. I think I've managed to find one at a decent price in great condition. And yes, the first thing I did was pull him back and watch him go.

I must say that Runamuck's colors go well together. The cream of the body, the black windows, gold trim with the orange around the head are very complimentary.

Runamuck transforms into a Pontiac Firebird, a truly '80's car. Look at how sleek he is. He just looks like he could go 100 miles per hour. Again, the gold trim, which goes all the way around, adds definition and really pops.

As a bonus, my Runamuck came with his tech spec and the instructions.

It's nice adding another Decepticon to my ranks and even nicer to complete my Battlecharger collection. This is just the start, as I have more posts coming, so stay tuned!